Minister gives some breathing space in nitrogen depletion

The step is included in a letter which was sent to the Lower House on Friday evening. At the insistence of livestock farming organisations, the minister is prepared to go a step further than she initially wanted, because entrepreneurs will be given the opportunity to demonstrate that the gaseous losses on their farm are different from the flat rate, with which they will be given the opportunity to place more manure.

It is not the case that this structurally improves much for livestock farming, because in terms of permit issuance the situation is virtually hopeless. The arithmetic lower limit of 1 mole per hectare for nitrogen deposition seemed for a while to provide some kind of solution. At least for some of the PAS reporters, but unfortunately that will not happen.

Lower limit below
Firstly, the minister wants to take a lot of time to see if the lower limit could be sustainable and then there is also a majority in the House that believes that this lower limit, if established, should first remain for another year to see if it really holds up in court. It is to be hoped that this majority in the House never has to make a decision in an emergency situation, or perhaps they no longer occur in the Netherlands.

Nitrogen depletion
However, it is not only the House of Representatives. The leading knowledge institutes in the field of nitrogen are also not sitting still. In the Compendium for the Living Environment (a product of CBS, PBL, RIVM and WUR) it is reported that due to, among other things, measurement corrections the emissions from agriculture are even higher than first calculated and the pressure on vulnerable nature is also still increasing (but that is also because nature can handle less and less mathematically, ecologists indicate). The relative deposition of livestock farms is thus becoming higher and higher and it is therefore also becoming more difficult to stay below 1 mole. In addition, balancing has become extremely difficult. Here is nitrogen depletion in full regalia.

Official beer quay
Some people argue that emissions from Dutch agriculture are decreasing less quickly than those from other sectors. Minister Wiersma does not see it that way. However, there is another example of why the sector is often fighting a losing battle. In NOT MY, which falls under the responsibility of the Expert Committee Fertilizers Act (CDM), stables with low-emission floors are now again considered normal stables. It is possible that these stables do not achieve the intended reduction, but is no reduction achieved at all?

Another change to the settlement rules can be found at the back of the report Monitor nitrogen deposition in Natura 2000 areas 2024. From this report onwards, emissions from hobby animals, manure deposits on nature reserves and from private individuals are also included in agricultural emissions. It is fortunate that sewage discharge is not included.

Love pants as a minefield
Brave are the farmers who dare to stick their heads above the parapet! Interesting news also seemed to come this week from the Lieftingsbroek nature reserve in Groningen, where WUR researcher Martin Scholten had been measuring. The research, which started out fairly relaxed, seems to have ended up in a minefield in recent weeks and the raw measurement data apparently have to remain under the table.

Perhaps PAS reporters can still get a small piece of satisfaction through the notice of default that was given in various provinces due to the lack of promised help. They should have been legalized by their province before March 1, now a damage procedure is going to start.

This week, rumors suddenly started circulating again about a possible forced relocation of companies in zoning areas around nature. The minister did not deny that these areas would be created, but she did deny that there would be forced relocation or termination. She even spoke out about it on her X account.